John johnson



J. JOHNSON.

Sled.

No. 72,401. I Patented Dec. 17, 1867..

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JOHN JOHNSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

s Letters Patent No. 72,401, dated December 17 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN SLEDS.

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Be it known that I, JOHN Johnson, of Boston, in the county of Sufi'olk,and Commonwealth of Massacnu setts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Sleds used for coasting and purposes of sport andpastime; and I hereby declare the following to be a full and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention is, first, in providing a yielding or springtop to the sled, which, while it yields vertically, and so insures aneasy and pleasant seat to the occupant,is, by my devices, prevented froma lateral 1 or tilting motion which would render the seat uncomfortableand dangerous; and, secondly, a steering-device,

by means of which the party seated on the sled can easily direct itscourse in coasting by means of aooi'd held in his hands without a changeof position or any sacrifice of comfort and convenience.

The sleds in common use are made with the top or. seat solidly fixed tothe runners, and so without the means of lessening the effects of theroughness and inequalities of the course over which they pass, and arealso devoid of steering-apparatus, the course being generally directedby the feet of the rider, an operation inconvenient and dangerous, andresulting in the increased wear and tear of his boots or shoes.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invontion,'I willfurther describe its construction and operation. In the accompanyingdrawings- Figure 1 represents a bottom view of a sled with myimprovements. Figure 2 a side view, and Figure 3 an end view of thesame. A and A are the runners of the sled; B is the top or seat; a andathe cross-bars connecting the runners; C the spring on which theseatrests; b and b are the hinges by which the seat is secured tothofront' cross-bar. D and D are the rudders, which, with thecords (Zand (Z, the hand-cord m, and the pulleys c and c,-

constitutc the steering-apparatus, c and e are the staples or eyes bywhich the cords are made fast to the rudders, andf andf the eyes throughwhich they pass on the sides of the runners. g and-g are the braces orsupports serving to further strengthen the sled.

My mode of constructing my improved sled is this: The runners A. and Aare firmly connected by the cross-bars a and a, and furtherstrengthened,'if reqnired, by the braces g and g.- The top or seat 13 isthen attached to the front cross-bar a by means of the hinges b and b,or some similar device, by which theseat is firmly secured and anylateral or rocking motion prevented, and at the same time suilicientplay allowed for the action of the spring 0, which is secured to therear cross-bar-by the staple It, and to the top or sent by the I stapleit. By this device the seat is rendered comfortable, while it is assecure from tipping or rocking as it directly fastened to the runners. I

My'steering-dcvicc consists of the rudders D and D, which are madeeither of wood or metal, or of wood shed with metal, inthc formrepresented in the dra\vings,'azul attached to the rear of the runnersby the hinges z and 1 so constructed as to allow the rudders to move upand down to meet the inequalities of the surfaceovcr which the sled ispassing, while their own weight tends to keep them upon-such surfacewith suiiicicnt force to accomplish the intended object. To the eyes orstaples e and e are attached the tiller-cords (l and d, each one madefast to the outer side of the opposite rudders, and passing along on thesides of the runners through the eyesf andf, and then, through the loopsat and n of the hand-cord, across under the seat 13 to the inner side ofthe opposite rudders, where they are again made fast. The hand-cord mpasses down through holes from the top of the sled under the pulleys ce, and ends in the loops at at, through which the cords (Z and cl pass.These cords combined operate substantially like a pair of driving-reinsfor a span of horses. The rider on the sled b means of the hand-cord m.ullin which side he desires ulls directl men the outer side of onerudder V 7 P a 7 I) y and the inner side of the opposite one, and somoves them simultaneously and in the same degree and direction.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is A sled, in which the top or seat 13 is secured, ator near its for\\'ard,end, to the front cross-bar by hinges b and I),while its rear end is supported by means of a spring, a, when such iscombined with a steeringapparatus, as described, the-whole beingconstructed, arrangcth and operated in the manner and forthe purposesset forth.

JOHN JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

A. B. Coma, S. E. Ivnsou.

